THQ Nordic Purchases Rights to 'Saints Row,' 'Dead Island, and 'Metro' Franchises
Austrian publisher THQ Nordic has just finished a multimillion dollar deal to purchase Koch Media, the parent company of video game publisher Deep Silver. This deal, worth €121 million (around $151 million), means that THQ Nordic now owns the rights to "Saints Row", "Metro", "Dead Island," and more.
News of this deal surfaced a few days ago in an official report containing the full details behind this transaction. What it boils down to is that THQ Nordic now owns Koch Media and all of its subsidiaries, which include publisher Deep Silver, best known for publishing several AAA franchises.
For a quick refresher on the company's history, THQ declared bankruptcy in late 2012 and, in the following year, auctioned off several of its intellectual properties. In that auction, Koch Media acquired Volition, along with rights to the "Saints Row" and "Metro" franchises. During that same auction, Crytek purchased the rights to "Homefront," but then later sold it to Koch Media as well.
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Nordic Games also bought out a substantial amount of THQ licenses including the rights to "Darksiders," "Red Faction," and the "MX" franchise as well as pretty much any other THQ property that was still up for grabs. About a year later, it purchased the THQ trademark and officially rebranded itself as THQ Nordic.
With this new purchase of Koch Media, it seems a lot of THQ's classic franchises have returned home to THQ Nordic. It is also interesting to note that, while Deep Silver never had the rights for "Red Faction" despite owning Volition, THQ Nordic does not have that concern. This means that, if it wanted to, THQ Nordic could begin work on a new "Red Faction" with the same company that started the franchise.
Koch Media will continue to work as a separate entity under the THQ Nordic umbrella. The purchase report also states that no restructuring or cost-saving programs are currently in motion, which means there is a low chance for layoffs. Having said that, it will be interesting to see how THQ Nordic takes advantage of these new acquisitions in the years to come.
